Chit-Chat: The Feels

[Ohiopirate02]

16 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

I'm not saying this is how you feel but during his first term I saw a lot of people say yeah he is a racist/Hitler wannabe/asshole but my 401K is doing great.  I could never be that person. I'm not saying I won't enjoy any benefits that come with a second Trump term (although I am at a loss to think of what benefit they could be) but I will never not think he is the worst thing to happen to our country.

Having more money in an account that I cannot touch for another 20 years when his tariffs are going to make everything more expensive is a shitty deal. 

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, Palimelon said:

By that logic then, it should be ok for people of a certain age to keep using the n-word or the f-word.

Society is not stagnant and keeps changing. Words that used to be innocent to some might not be that way to others anymore.

Sorry but it has never been OK to use the n-word or the f-word in public in my lifetime. Maybe in some very backward places but not where I come from. It was likely not accepted in most places openly in most people's lifetimes today. The entire country is not those things.

It may come as a shock to some people but in general people were more liberal about social things like this 50 years ago. And it chaps us to be told that somehow we're not liberal enough socially today. I come from NYC and was raised in a culture that was arguably even more "woke" than today. So I kind of get insulted that people make assumptions about older people based on their being older. If you knew what things were like in the '60's and '70s it might surprise you. The backlash came with Reagan in the '80s. And many of us in the urban Northeast were NOT a part of that.

Also, he problem is who gets to tell us which words are offensive. I can tell you that millions of Baby Boomers are highly hurt, triggered and insulted at some of the words we are called routinely and openly by those in younger generations in such a way as to insult and invalidate us. But we don't have the political clout to get that canceled because the younger people think they are in control of that now and can define us despite how we define ourselves. So we just have to suffer and get enraged in silence because we have no power to do anything about it. The power is not in our hands. The young people get to define themselves and cancel words but we are told we can't and furthermore we are always wrong. We cant win. It's just not fair and it reduces me to tears to even talk about it.

ETA: Many older people were brought up not to let words hurt them. They see people that complain about words hurting them as whiners. We were very much brought up to believe that "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me". But they do and many of us stew in silence over them.

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But your husband isn't being pulled over for being white. Your husband is being pulled over for driving at night. It's not the same thing as being pulled over at any time of the day in any part of the country just because he is driving a car and not having the right skin color.

That may be true but his contention is that the cops are pulling more people over for nothing, not just more people of color. So some of that is because of the way cops operate now. He takes a dim view of the way the police operate on these things today. It was different years ago. Now everyone is presumed to be a criminal regardless of color. I think the cops are worse to all people than they used to be. And of course they were always worse to people of color but neither he nor I ever denied that.

Edited November 14 by Yeah No

[Palimelon]

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Sorry but it has never been OK to use the n-word or the f-word in public in my lifetime. Maybe in some very backward places but not where I come from. It was likely not accepted in most places openly in most people's lifetimes today. The entire country is not those things.

It was accepted in the southern parts of America well into the late 60s, if not later.

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It may come as a shock to some people but in general people were more liberal about social things like this 50 years ago.

Such as? Pride parades? Interracial marriages? Gay marriage?

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Also, he problem is who gets to tell us which words are offensive.

For starters, I'd say the people those words are being used on get to tell the rest of us which words are offensive.

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I can tell you that millions of Baby Boomers are highly hurt, triggered and insulted at some of the words we are called routinely and openly by those in younger generations in such a way as to insult and invalidate us.

What words are those? If even the most liberal or progressive baby boomers are saying people don't have a right to be offended when certain words are used, maybe they aren't the allies they claim to be.

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That may be true but his contention is that the cops are pulling more people over for nothing, not just more people of color. So some of that is because of the way cops operate now. He takes a dim view of the way the police operate on these things today. It was different years ago. Now everyone is presumed to be a criminal regardless of color. I think the cops are worse to all people than they used to be. And of course they were always worse to people of color but neither he nor I ever denied that.

May be true?

Cops are pulling over more people but the number of non-white people being pulled over is still disproportionate to racial make-up of society. No, not everyone is presumed to be a criminal. Some are more than others.

This why it's better to follow statistics instead of anecdotal evidence on certain issues.

Researchers studied nearly 100 million traffic stops and found black motorists are more likely to be pulled over

Traffic stop data reveals racial discrepancies in police enforcement

Research Shows Black Drivers More Likely to Be Stopped by Police

 

[Yeah No]

2 minutes ago, Palimelon said:

It was accepted in the southern parts of America well into the late 60s, if not later.

Were you ever in the South in the 1960's? My Jewish grandfather lived there and I visited him often. I never heard anyone use those words in front of me. I'm sure they were used down South but this image that the whole country everywhere is like the South in the '60s is just mistaken. I have been all over this country several times. 

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Such as? Pride parades? Interracial marriages? Gay marriage?

YES and decidedly yes to all except gay marriage, but that was only because it wasn't legal then, not because we didn't recognize it. I'm really surprised that this should be a shock to anyone. My mother worked for a black man in the '40s and her best friend in the '80s was a black man who was married to a white woman. My father's best friend's sister came out to him in the 1940s. He worked and was friends with many gay people. We hung around in Greenwich Village when I was a kid in the '60s and '70s. I witnessed gay pride, war protests, women's rights marches, you name it. And that's just the nutshell version. My wedding party 44 years ago was a tapestry of races, religions and sexual orientations. One of my bridesmaids was a lesbian and one of our ushers was gay. We had 3 races represented. This was not unusual in NYC back in the day. None of it.

So there was a lot going on in earlier generations but somehow young people think they invented equality and everyone over a certain age is racist, sexist misogynist and anti-LGBTQ. This stuff is only true in certain areas of the country. I blame Trump and his ilk for this misperception.

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For starters, I'd say the people those words are being used on get to tell the rest of us which words are offensive.

What words are those? If even the most liberal or progressive baby boomers are saying people don't have a right to be offended when certain words are used, maybe they aren't the allies they claim to be.

I don't have time to get into what words and names we have been called unfairly, but nobody listens to us anymore because we're old now. Only young people think their rights are significant. Ours are not significant to them so therefore we are being squelched and left out.

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Cops are pulling over more people but the number of non-white people being pulled over is still disproportionate to racial make-up of society. No, not everyone is presumed to be a criminal. Some are more than others.

This why it's better to follow statistics instead of anecdotal evidence on certain issues.

Researchers studied nearly 100 million traffic stops and found black motorists are more likely to be pulled over

Traffic stop data reveals racial discrepancies in police enforcement

Research Shows Black Drivers More Likely to Be Stopped by Police

I never denied any of this so I don't know why you're going on about it. And from an older white person's perspective, yes we are getting pulled over more often now for very flimsy reasons compared to years ago. Again, we get that POC are being pulled over more now even at that. That was never in question by me. But we were there years ago and feel that there is a difference now in how police treat everyone in general, so please don't invalidate our perceptions on this.

[fairffaxx]

3 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Only young people think their rights are significant. Ours are not significant to them so therefore we are being squelched and left out.

Nothing new about this, elders (outside of the Orient) have always become invisible to younger generations.  Fortunately for my own peace of mind, my natural inclination has been to ignore them too so that we can peacefully co-exist as neighbors.  Nod politely & pass on by.

[Palimelon]

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Were you ever in the South in the 1960's? My Jewish grandfather lived there and I visited him often. I never heard anyone use those words in front of me. I'm sure they were used down South but this image that the whole country everywhere is like the South in the '60s is just mistaken. I have been all over this country several times. 

Then you were lucky you never heard it on your visits. Others who lived there weren't so lucky. Since you like anecdotal evidence, here is one: in the early 2000s, I heard someone call my uncle a sand-n-word in Columbia, SC.

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YES and decidedly yes to all except gay marriage, but that was only because it wasn't legal then, not because we didn't recognize it.

They may have been legal but that doesn't make them accepted. In many parts of the US, they still aren't accepted. The first pride parade happened in 1970 and it was welcome by all nor was it something people didn't have to fight for.

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My mother worked for a black man in the '40s and her best friend in the '80s was a black man who was married to a white woman. My father's best friend's sister came out to him in the 1940s. He worked and was friends with many gay people. We hung around in Greenwich Village when I was a kid in the '60s and '70s. I witnessed gay pride, war protests, women's rights marches, you name it. And that's just the nutshell version. My wedding party 44 years ago was a tapestry of races, religions and sexual orientations. One of my bridesmaids was a lesbian and one of our ushers was gay. We had 3 races represented. This was not unusual in NYC back in the day. None of it.

And that's all lovely. But just as you say the whole US wasn't like the south when it came to race relations, the NYC bubble of tolerance didn't represent all the country at the time either. And even then New York City was having race riots in the mid 1960s.

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So there was a lot going on in earlier generations but somehow young people think they invented equality and everyone over a certain age is racist, sexist misogynist and anti-LGBTQ. This stuff is only true in certain areas of the country. I blame Trump and his ilk for this misperception.

Nobody is saying everyone over a certain age is racist, sexist, misogynist, or anti-LGBTQ. However the proportion of people who are like that does increase with each age demographic as it gets older.

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I don't have time to get into what words and names we have been called unfairly, but nobody listens to us anymore because we're old now.

Sorry but boomers don't get to act like victims without explaining to people why they feel like victims. It doesn't work that way.

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I never denied any of this so I don't know why you're going on about it. And from an older white person's perspective, yes we are getting pulled over more often now for very flimsy reasons compared to years ago. Again, we get that POC are being pulled over more now even at that. That was never in question by me. But we were there years ago and feel that there is a difference now in how police treat everyone in general, so please don't invalidate our perceptions on this.

You claiming that you have it worse than the people who are actually having it worse than you is invalidating their feelings too, one can say.

Also, perspective doesn't always equal reality.

[Dimity]

With regard to the threat by Herr Donald of "mass deportations" - who, exactly, is going to be paying for this?   Is this noted anywhere in their playbook?

[Dimity]

7 minutes ago, Palimelon said:

However the proportion of people who are like that does increase with each age demographic as it gets older.

Studies also show that women tend to get more radical as they age and men get more conservative.  One explanation for this is that (generally of course) women lose power as they get older while men acquire it.  I am hoping this explanation has aged and changed in the past few years, but based on the US election results I somehow doubt it.

Edited November 14 by Dimity

[bluegirl147]

11 minutes ago, Dimity said:

With regard to the threat by Herr Donald of "mass deportations" - who, exactly, is going to be paying for this?   Is this noted anywhere in their playbook?

  From my understanding private prisons are absolutely gleeful about this mass deportation plan.  I think they assume (and maybe they have been told) that people who are held for deportation will go to these prisons.  Now I don't know if the detainees will be expected to have money put on their books or if tax payers will foot the bill.  All I know is if this happens it will be a stain on our country forever.

[partofme]

Have you heard about the Onion buying Infowars with the help and support of Sandy Hook families?  Some positive news when everything else is a disaster.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/onion-buys-infowars-bankruptcy-auction/story?id=115858794

[bluegirl147]

9 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Studies also show that women tend to get more radical as they age and men get more conservative. 

I don't think I've gotten more radical.  But I've always been more liberal than not.    I will say I am less patient with people who continue to not see the forest for the trees.

I don't think women become more radical. I think they become more evolved.  When we are younger we are preconditioned to marry and have children.  As we age I think we start living our lives for ourselves.    

And as for men becoming more conservative I think that is in response to thinking someone is going to replace them and/or they won't be needed anymore. They don't want things to change.

Just now, partofme said:

Have you heard about the Onion buying Infowars with the help and support of Sandy Hook families?  Some positive news when everything else is a disaster.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/onion-buys-infowars-bankruptcy-auction/story?id=115858794

It's fitting.  Alex Jones was always a parody of a human being.

[Ohiopirate02]

1 minute ago, partofme said:

Have you heard about the Onion buying Infowars with the help and support of Sandy Hook families?  Some positive news when everything else is a disaster.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/onion-buys-infowars-bankruptcy-auction/story?id=115858794

I just read about that. I love that this was the best offer and the court proceedings allowed for the best offer to win and not the highest.

[Enigma X]

I was born in Chicago in 1975 but my parents were born and raised in Mississippi. They left partly due to being called the N-word one too many times. Not that they didn't hear it in Chicago, too but a lot less.

6 minutes ago, partofme said:

Have you heard about the Onion buying Infowars with the help and support of Sandy Hook families?  Some positive news when everything else is a disaster.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/onion-buys-infowars-bankruptcy-auction/story?id=115858794

Yep. Saw the main investor write this on my Bluesky skyline.

[Ohiopirate02]

37 minutes ago, Palimelon said:

Then you were lucky you never heard it on your visits. Others who lived there weren't so lucky. Since you like anecdotal evidence, here is one: in the early 2000s, I heard someone call my uncle a sand-n-word in Columbia, SC.

I have another bit of anecdotal evidence, in the area of NC where I live back in the early 2000s the owner of the largest chain of gas stations here dropped the n-word in a speech given to highlight his company's philanthropic work. The word was and is still ingrained in many of the locals here. And living here in the 90s I can attest to the the f-word being commonly used by my high school classmates and then as an undergrad. And speaking of my undergrad years, I went to a school with both a Kappa Alpha and a Sigma Nu chapter where the frat boys waived their stars and bars with pride. These guys were either Gen-X or elder Millennials who learned about their hate masquerading as heritage from their Boomer or Silent Generation parents.

Edited November 14 by Ohiopirate02

[Dimity]

1 minute ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

These guys were either Gen-X or elder Millennials who learned about their hate masquerading as heritage from their Boomer or Silent Generation parents.

That car on the Dukes of Hazard and that flag being used as curtains in many a room in student housing in Montreal  were my first introduction to it still being commonly displayed.  I was too  young, and Canadian, I guess to see it as anything other than a way to show the world youthful rebelliousness.  I think, I may be wrong, but I think those who co-opted it outside of the US South were as ignorant then as I was. 

[tearknee]

As a follow-up, I kind of wonder why John Tyler still has so much named after him. Probably because no one has heard of him.

[bluegirl147]

4 minutes ago, Dimity said:

  I think, I may be wrong, but I think those who co-opted it outside of the US South were as ignorant then as I was. 

Not just outside of the US. I live in the state formed when we seceded from Virginia who was part of the Confederacy.  There are more Confederate flags flying here now than ever before.  I have seen people who have lived here their whole lives, who's families have lived here their whole lives argue it's part of their heritage.  Ignorant doesn't begin to describe what they are. 

[partofme]

Even if it were part of their heritage, shouldn’t it be a part of their heritage that they’re ashamed of?  Besides being a racist flag, it’s also a traitorous flag, you would think people who claim to be so patriotic should want nothing to do with a flag that is anti-USA.  

[Spartan Girl]

36 minutes ago, partofme said:

Have you heard about the Onion buying Infowars with the help and support of Sandy Hook families?  Some positive news when everything else is a disaster.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/onion-buys-infowars-bankruptcy-auction/story?id=115858794

I think we should take this as a sign that karma is real, so don’t lose faith, guys! If Alex Jones can finally get his comeuppance, then maybe we aren’t all doomed after all!

[Dimity]

1 minute ago, partofme said:

Besides being a racist flag, it’s also a traitorous flag, you would think people who claim to be so patriotic should want nothing to do with a flag that is anti-USA.  

Since most of these people recently voted for an insurrectionist....

[bluegirl147]

2 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Since most of these people recently voted for an insurrectionist....

Yep. My state overwhelmingly went for Trump.  All three times.

And back in 2012 during the Democratic primary President Obama only beat a man in prison by only 19 points.

[PRgal]

1 hour ago, fairffaxx said:

Nothing new about this, elders (outside of the Orient) have always become invisible to younger generations.  Fortunately for my own peace of mind, my natural inclination has been to ignore them too so that we can peacefully co-exist as neighbors.  Nod politely & pass on by.

Eh...not if you ask GenXers or Millennials.  I think my grandparents' generation was the last of where their children took responsibility and cared for them in old age.  My parents plan to either move into a community (they're not sure whether they're going to move into a culturally-targeted one (Mong Sheong and Yee Hong are the ones in Toronto)) or hire someone to help out in their current residence.  It's not that different in the old country.  At least in more societies.

[mostlylurking]

11 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Biden had him over. The bastard tried to overthrow the government, and he had him over. I understand that Democrats want to feel like they have the moral high ground, but that is meaningless. I don't care that he won the Electoral and popular votes. My immediate urge? Burn down the White House and Capital. Republicans want to run the nation into the ground? Let 'em do it in a freezing parking lot. Or shit, let 'em move to Mar-a-Lago. I bet he'd love their company.

1000% this.  Democrats acting like they can just maintain the status quo and have the high moral ground and things will right themselves.  They won’t.  This is not normal, and having him over to the White House and pretending like it is normal isn’t doing dems any favors.  Things have changed. Republicans have realized this and guess what THEY changed.  Dems have to now play catch up.

[Anela]

I’m a late Genx who helped my dad to take care of my mum.  I know someone who is taking care of her dad, all by herself.  She’s a bit older than me.  She works, too. 

[Dimity]

Is it true Herr Trump is going to impose a tariff on coffee beans?  Because that is not going to go well for him if true:

[bluegirl147]

2 minutes ago, Anela said:

I’m a late Genx who helped my dad to take care of my mum.  I know someone who is taking care of her dad, all by herself.  She’s a bit older than me.  She works, too. 

Yes Gen X is also called the Sandwich generation.  Because we take care of our aging parents, our kids and sometimes are grandkids. And yes while we also have full time jobs.  

[Dimity]

12 minutes ago, Anela said:

I’m a late Genx who helped my dad to take care of my mum.  I know someone who is taking care of her dad, all by herself.  She’s a bit older than me.  She works, too.

Tail end of the boom here and we were so fortunate that my parents could afford for my mother to go into a nursing home when her handicaps reached a point where we could no longer care for her adequately.  If they couldn't have afforded it then my sisters and I would have continued to help my Dad care for her. My Dad now lives with one of my sibs and is doing very well.  We all do what we can. 

I have no patience with those broadly condemning or praising entire generations.

Edited November 14 by Dimity

[PRgal]

5 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

Yes Gen X is also called the Sandwich generation.  Because we take care of our aging parents, our kids and sometimes are grandkids. And yes while we also have full time jobs.  

I STILL have to deal with some things, like finances, but actual care?  Once my parents have decided what to do, I just have to make sure the staff at the community (because you never know) or their homecare people are doing their job.  

[peacheslatour]

Just now, Dimity said:

Tail end of the boom here and we were so fortunate that my parents could afford for my mother to go into a nursing home when her handicaps reached a point where we could no longer care for her adequately.  If they couldn't have afforded it then my sisters and I would have continued to care for her.  My Dad now lives with one of my sibs and is doing very well.  We all do what we can. 

I'm a late Boomer here too. I took care of my dad for years after my mom died but my very wise mother had already made me a signatory on their accounts and introduced me to their financial guy so when I needed to get POA, I was able to meet the attorney that he recommended in his office with my dad and get all the paperwork done there. Having power of attorney is like a magic wand. Once I had that I started taking him to elder care specialists and got a proper diagnosis. He spent the rest of his life (if you can call having almost no brain activity living) in very good care. My POA allowed me to sell his house which handsomely funded first rate care. I would never have been able to do any of it without my mom's wisdom.

[fastiller]

On 11/13/2024 at 3:34 AM, Soapy Goddess said:

But what about all the borrowers who managed to pay off their loans? Do you think it's fair to them to have struggled while others are forgiven??

I don't see it as a question of fairness.  I think it's perfectly fine for my nieces and nephews to have their college loans forgiven even though (perhaps because) I had to pay mine in full.  I know their parents feel the same way (IE: that it's fine for the kids' loans to be forgiven even though my sister & brother-in-law had to pay theirs in full).  And my brother & sister-in-law feel the same way about their daughter.  I liken it to an illness.  Suppose I get cancer & struggle thru chemo or radiation to get to remission.  And suppose in the future some other less harsh treatment is discovered which will bring cancer to remission.  I won't begrudge someone in the future who can benefit from that less harsh treatment.  In fact, I'll celebrate that fewer people will need to suffer the harsher chemo/radiation path. 

 

23 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

I live in a majority white rural state.  There aren't a lot opportunities here.  Being able to get a well paying secure job right out of high school is long in our past.  And yet we still have young men who instead of moving for better opportunities or going to college or trade school stay and complain about their lot in life.  And it's not just men. It's also women.  I absolutely believe the biggest problem we have in this country is the income/wealth gap.  It is a fact the richer are getting richer and the poorer are getting poorer.  Until someone really starts to address that we are going to continue to see the anger and resentment continue to grow.  I will forever not understand why some people blame the undocumented worker who is just trying to survive and not blame the employer who is paying them under the table so he can keep more of his money.

I have seen way too many of those men fail and still continue to get opportunities.  Could you imagine if Obama had said even one the crazy things Trump said?  Or if Obama had been caught messing around with an intern?  

 

=&=

23 hours ago, kittykat said:

Again this argument of being left behind all boils down to the exploitation of late stage Capitalism.  The greatest struggle right now is that people working lower/middle class jobs aren't making enough money to combat the rising cost of living.  If one is working a minimum wage job, I believe one should make enough money to be able to pay for the basic necessities.  They won't purchase a house or filet mignon but food, clothing and shelter should be affordable to that person. If one is working 2/3 jobs they shouldn't be barely getting by, they should be thriving.

The problem is that most people are not paid what they are worth.  Billionaires will turn around and say they can't afford to raise wages or that jobs will be cut if their taxes are raised then turn around and tell their middle class worker it's not fair to them that minimum wage is being raised.  Keeping the middle and lower classes fighting one another is what keeps the rich empowered.  The lower classes are not taking away from middle classes for higher wages, middle classes are being grossly underpaid for their learned skill.

It's been a joke the last 10-15 years how college grads can't get an entry level job without 2-3 years experience and a low-ball salary with minimum benefits.  Trades should also be explored of course but it's about re balancing the COL and basic wages. Of course this would mean TAXING THE RICH!  

So yes I get a little frustrated when the people who voted for Trump because they feel left behind by this economy just voted back in the very class of people who have been keeping them down.

 

This kind of replies not the specifics of the posts above, but to the 'vibe' they portray that's out there. My brother mentioned that he heard (IIRC it was on PBS) some talking head say that people are dismayed because they're not going to have a better life than their parents did. I think I may be the last (or second to last) generation (Gen-X, btw) where that could be a true statement.  According to my brother, the talking head didn't go on to mention that the reason generations from just after the Great Depression through Gen-x were able to improve over their parents' situations was because of generous government programs like the WPA and the GI Bill and others.  Which were dismantled, starting in/around the 80s by whom? The GOP.

Also, let's remember that an actual handout of $$$ by the gov't is better for the economy when it's given to poor/working class/middle class people than it is when given to the wealthy.  The former will spend the $$$ thus improving the economy whilst the latter will park it in some bank account where it will sit and do nothing for anyone other than the specific recipient.

 

22 hours ago, Palimelon said:

The third reason: leverage his name to make more money.

Which is why he threatened to sue CBS for $10Bn for their interview of Harris.  Which kind of says loud & clear his intent to become POTUS is very much $$$.

20 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

And Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence. That should make it easy for Putin to find out everything.

=&=

20 hours ago, Palimelon said:

There is an oxymoron in there somewhere...

 

Well, a moron at any rate.  (Sorry, my invective is showing there.)

21 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Matt Gaetz as Attorney General.  I give up.

Sex offenders gotta stick together, no?

[Dimity]

2 minutes ago, fastiller said:

Which kind of says loud & clear his intent to become POTUS is very much $$$.

What kills me is the man is 78, what does he want?  A gold lined coffin? 

[EtheltoTillie]

21 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

Yes Gen X is also called the Sandwich generation.  Because we take care of our aging parents, our kids and sometimes are grandkids. And yes while we also have full time jobs.  

FWIW, this locution was coined in the '80s, for the Boomers.  It's suddenly in the news as if it were something new. 

[PRgal]

@bluegirl147 Why don't people want to move?  Too scared that they'd be judged for where they're from?  Because moving won't help, since a lot of jobs are about having the right connections?  Because they don't want to disrupt their way of life?  The last one sounds A LOT like some recent immigrants who refuse to acculturate or learn English.  Funny because they took the risk to come here.  Learning English AND acculturating (but yet still holding on to aspects of their culture) would help A LOT, and help avoid conflict with their children who were born/raised here.  If *I* think there are cultural differences between me and my parents, imagine how much MORE difficult it is for someone whose parents don't understand Canadian ways of life AT ALL.

[kittykat]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

I think we should take this as a sign that karma is real, so don’t lose faith, guys! If Alex Jones can finally get his comeuppance, then maybe we aren’t all doomed after all!

Small victories.  I'll take it.

 

22 minutes ago, fastiller said:

According to my brother, the talking head didn't go on to mention that the reason generations from just after the Great Depression through Gen-x were able to improve over their parents' situations was because of generous government programs like the WPA and the GI Bill and others.  Which were dismantled, starting in/around the 80s by whom? The GOP.

Exactly.  Government programs tracking all the way back to FDR's New Deal are exactly why the Silent/Boomer eras were so prosperous.  I say era, not people because obviously certain classes and races did not benefit.  Federal investments into infrastructure and education  and the progressive tax system under Eisenhower all contributed to the most prosperous era (again only a select few) in American history.  We also benefitted from not having our continent blown to bits, unlike Europe.

The 80s were an era of false prosperity where the rich got richer and social programs that benefitted everyone were gutted.  But, yay, shopping malls! Reagan was popular his first term because of the economy but it was not his economic plan that worked, it was the remnants of Jimmy Carter's economic plan and Reagan got the credit.

I read a book a few years ago about how it takes a President's economic plan around 2-3 years to display any positive/negative effect.  Which is part of why I'm so angry because I know the economy will likely take a turn for the better but then Trump will be in office but he'll be coasting on BIDEN'S plan but then he'll get all the credit with his base. 

It's been over a week and I'm still screaming into my pillow every day.

 

[GHScorpiosRule]

47 minutes ago, kittykat said:

It's been over a week and I'm still screaming into my pillow every day.

This is me. I'm still avoiding all news because I just can't take it. I'm sick of the bickering; the blame game going around. It doesn't HELP. Am I in denial? No. But mentally, I'm not ready to read or see all the gloating. Or the Batshit nominees.

So I'm going through all my Gregory Peck movies...Roman Holiday is up next, followed by The Gentleman's Agreement. Just watched Spellbound, Moby Dick, Guns of Navaronne, Boys from Brazil, The Gunfighter, and Cape Fear. And My Loony Tunes-Bugs is da Man.

Edited November 14 by GHScorpiosRule

[JustHereForFood]

6 hours ago, Palimelon said:

Earlier someone was asking about the Trump/Musk relationship, and this showed up on my IG feed. I wonder which one of them will turn on the other first.

FYI, Trump posted that sometime in July 2022...

A reporter on our news last night said that there usually can be only one "alpha-male" (personal note: I hate that term), so it might backfire for one of them later on. I would generally say, let's bring popcorn to that, but these days I tend to think that everything that backfires on people like them will slither down to the rest of us as well.

 

3 hours ago, Palimelon said:

What words are those? If even the most liberal or progressive baby boomers are saying people don't have a right to be offended when certain words are used, maybe they aren't the allies they claim to be.

Well, some of the most radical leftists who tend to call themselves progressive don't even try to hide their antisemitism nowadays and even if they might not use the same words that the far right, they certainly use the same stereotypes. Not to mention throwing around words like settlers, colonialists, some of them accusing the entire western world of being guilty for racism and colonialism of the past generations, demonizing the military, demonizing the entire police force, hell demonizing liberals who are not left enough in their eyes. Maybe they don't use words that have collectively been deemed unacceptable, but like Yeah No said, other words can hurt too. The popular phrase now seems to be telling people to kill themselves, how is that ok just because it's not one of those worst terms? So far, I have been told to kill myself on the internet for, let's see: supporting NATO, supporting Ukraine, saying that Israel has right to exist and defend themselves again terrorists and that we should support two-state solution, and most of all for calling myself a liberal centrist, because that is to some people an equivalent of being fascist now. It honestly doesn't bother me much, because I sleep perfectly fine holding those opinions and I generally think that the person on the other end is some stupid kid if not a russian troll, but it would definitely bother me if I was younger, since I used to be more sensitive and take everything to heart.

[bluegirl147]

38 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

But mentally, I'm not ready to read or see all the gloating

There are certain shows and sites I'm avoiding because I will not be able to take the I told you so's.  The smugness will be unbearable.

 

[Dimity]

19 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

Well, some of the most radical leftists who tend to call themselves progressive don't even try to hide their antisemitism nowadays and even if they might not use the same words that the far right, they certainly use the same stereotypes. Not to mention throwing around words like settlers, colonialists, some of them accusing the entire western world of being guilty for racism and colonialism of the past generations, demonizing the military, demonizing the entire police force, hell demonizing liberals who are not left enough in their eyes.

Yep.  I have several young relatives who are practically Holocaust deniers right now in their zeal to demonize Israel.  From what I have been reading this is a real issue with today's youth and I am at a loss to explain or understand it.

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, Palimelon said:

That sounds like a way for people to keep saying offensive things because f*ck people's feelings if they are offended by it. Saying offensive things isn't inclusive, even if you feel what is being said isn't offensive and/or it's only being said about the tiniest minorities.

Exactly; impact matters more than intent.  The cumulative effect is why microaggressions are harmful.  If you've been saying something all your life because you didn't realize it was rooted in bigotry, and you find out it's actually not a harmless word/expression, it's offensive, then simply stop using it and choose instead from the many other words out there that describe the same thing.

[PRgal]

@JustHereForFood:  I'm not a fan of "settler" either.  If "settlers" only refer to White people, then what about other immigrants?  It dismisses the fact that people like my parents chose to come and SETTLE here.  Plus if you REALLY are going to use the term "settler," then it should ONLY be used to refer to people who STILL have connections to the old world in some form (think people of, say, Italian heritage).  It also dismisses/ignores other parts of the world who conquered/"influenced."  Think China.  And, more recently, Japan (my grandparents lived through those times.  I also have more distant relatives who lived through the Cultural Revolution, those who didn't get to Hong Kong or Macau safely).  It's with these discussions that I don't even know where people like me truly fit.  And when people ask me how I identify myself, I often ask whether they want the long answer or short one.  If they ask for the long one, I'll give them a lecture.  If they ask for the short one, I'll simply say "it's complicated." 

Edited November 15 by PRgal

[tearknee]

 

10 minutes ago, PRgal said:

@JustHereForFood:  I'm not a fan of "settler" either.  If "settlers" only refer to White people, then what about other immigrants?  It dismisses the fact that people like my parents chose to come and SETTLE here.  Plus if you REALLY are going to use the term "settler," then it should ONLY be used to refer to people who STILL have connections to the old world in some form (think people of, say, Italian heritage).  It also dismisses/ignores other parts of the world who conquered/"influenced."  Think China.  And, more recently, Japan (my grandparents lived through those times.  I also have more distant relatives who lived through the Cultural Revolution, those who didn't get to Hong Kong or Macau safely).  It's with these discussions that I don't even know where people like me truly fit.  And when people ask me how I identify myself, I often ask whether they want the long answer or short one.  If they ask for the long one, I'll tell give them a lecture.  If they ask for the short one, I'll simply say "it's complicated." 

^

THIS!

Calling modern-day non-indigenous Australians or United Statesians or Canadians "settlers" is an abuse of both language and history,

 

 

10 minutes ago, PRgal said:

@JustHereForFood:  I'm not a fan of "settler" either.  If "settlers" only refer to White people, then what about other immigrants?  It dismisses the fact that people like my parents chose to come and SETTLE here.  Plus if you REALLY are going to use the term "settler," then it should ONLY be used to refer to people who STILL have connections to the old world in some form (think people of, say, Italian heritage).  It also dismisses/ignores other parts of the world who conquered/"influenced."  Think China.  And, more recently, Japan (my grandparents lived through those times.  I also have more distant relatives who lived through the Cultural Revolution, those who didn't get to Hong Kong or Macau safely).  It's with these discussions that I don't even know where people like me truly fit.  And when people ask me how I identify myself, I often ask whether they want the long answer or short one.  If they ask for the long one, I'll tell give them a lecture.  If they ask for the short one, I'll simply say "it's complicated." 

Also why are the British and French LoN Mandates called "colonies" (they were not) but not the Japanese ones in the Pacific (which very much *were*)?

Edited November 14 by tearknee

[PRgal]

5 minutes ago, tearknee said:

 

^

THIS!

Calling modern-day non-indigenous Australians or United Statesians or Canadians is an abuse of both language and history,

 

 

Also why are the British and French LoN Mandates called "colonies" (they were not) but not the Japanese ones in the Pacific (which very much *were*)?

And is a telltale sign of where our education system has been heading to.  They're all for diversity and inclusion, but they don't seem to INCLUDE certain countries' wrong-doings and only focus on the west, especially from centuries ago.  Oh, and what about what was part of the Roman Empire?  Hmmmmmm...no one is asking the Italian government to apologize to parts of present day EU, Britain, the middle east and northern Africa.   

[Palimelon]

Because many of those countries are still feeling the effect of colonialism, to this day. Nobody is really feeling the effects of the Roman empire.

[Is Everyone Gone]

RFK Jr as HHS Secretary. Good lord.

[Bastet]

8 minutes ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

RFK Jr as HHS Secretary. Good lord.

This is the only one I have any hope of the Senate refusing to confirm (if we actually get confirmation hearings rather than recess appointments), since so many of them are bought and paid for by the pharmaceutical industry.

[PRgal]

17 minutes ago, Palimelon said:

Because many of those countries are still feeling the effect of colonialism, to this day. Nobody is really feeling the effects of the Roman empire.

And what about Japan?  They haven’t put on their big kid pants for that yet.  Germany has.  

[Palimelon]

Japan definitely owes China, the Koreas, and others quite a few things.

At the very least, I hope the surviving "comfort women" that are still alive in all the countries that experienced that horror receive whatever they can during their lifetimes.

Edited November 14 by Palimelon

[peacheslatour]

11 minutes ago, Bastet said:

This is the only one I have any hope of the Senate refusing to confirm (if we actually get confirmation hearings rather than recess appointments), since so many of them are bought and paid for by the pharmaceutical industry.

[Soapy Goddess]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

But for a lot of these people, it's not because they want to keep saying offensive things at all. It's that they don't see what is offensive about what they're saying in the first place. For a lot of older people there were never negative connotations associated with some of these words so they see being told not to use them as just more stuff designed to make them feel outdated, invalidated and wrong about everything. And they recoil at the idea that some young upstarts are now dictating to them what is right and wrong to say based on what they see as erroneous connotations placed on innocent words. I'm just telling you how they feel about it, I'm not justifying it.

They also make the case that if they're not intending to offend anyone people should just get off their high horses and realize that, and stop associating negative connotations with otherwise non-offensive words. It's not that they don't give a crap about offending anyone - they would give a crap if they thought it was a valid complaint. And they feel like the ones that are being offended. Again, just telling you, not condoning it. I only feel that way about certain words but I fully get why most of them are a problem.

Thank you for articulating what many people feel. A recent comic strip addresses this issue with humor: 

[Suzn]

A few facts for perspective.  My employer covers most of the cost of very good health insurance that for family coverage, costs nearly $48,000 a year.

I've gotten garnishments for student loans  that are around $50,000; the employee works part time for 12.50 an hour.  This was pre-pandemic and they are hired at 14.50 an hour now.